A Lily Story
by loopdeedoo
Summary: The tale of Lily's final year. She still hates James, but when her friends do something to try and get them together, things get messy. Chapter 3 is up!
1. Platform Nine and Three Quarters

Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling, I do not own any of the characters that appear in the HP books. I do own the ones that don't appear in the books, though.  
  
"Hey Evans, will you go out with me?"  
  
Lily sighed and kept walking until she had gone straight through the barrier that led to Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Wow. This was going to be a fun year. Potter really had to be determined if that was the first thing he said to her. She turned around sharply to meet him.  
  
"A hello would be nice before you ask me out again."  
  
"Oh, okay," said James, beginning to grin, "hello. Will you go out with me?"  
  
"No." Lily turned and began to walk to the train, where she was hailed by her three best friends, Anna, Sierra, and Bailey.  
  
"Lily!" they chorused.  
  
"Hi," she said. "Guess what? I'm Head Girl!" Lily pointed to the badge pinned to her shirt. She was immediately hit by a barrage of "Congratulations!"-s and "Why didn't you tell us?"-s.  
  
"Anyway," Lily continued, trying not to look too proud of herself, "Guess who just asked me out twice in a minute?"  
  
The girls began giggling. "You know, you should pay more attention to him, Lily. James is really nice when he's not hexing Snape," Anna said fairly. Anna was the sweetest of her friends and never said anything bad about anybody. She had thin blonde hair that fell halfway down her back and light blue-green eyes. She was medium height and skinny and quieter than the other two.  
  
"I love his pranks," said Bailey fondly. Bailey was the shortest of the four and had auburn hair, big brown eyes, and freckles. Out of the four, she was the troublemaker.  
  
Sierra rolled her eyes. Then she turned to Lily. "You two would make a good couple, you know."  
  
"Wow, I just love all the support I'm getting from you guys," Lily said, annoyed. "Possibly all of you haven't yet noticed that Potter is an arrogant jerk who doesn't care for anyone but himself?"  
  
"Now that's a little harsh," said Sierra. She was the tallest of them and very outgoing. She had thick black hair and dark eyes. She was very likeable. When she and Lily met in their first year, they were instant friends.  
  
"Yes, you know, James is Head Boy," Anna said, nodding.  
  
"What?!?!?" Lily dropped her heavy trunk on Bailey's foot, who squeaked and starting hopping around in pain, clutching her toe. Lily didn't notice.  
  
"James—James Potter—is Head Boy?!? How could they have picked him?" Lily was angry. For as long as she had known she was Head Girl, she had wondered who Head Boy was, who she would share the Head Common Room with, who she would do her duties with.....and it would be with James Potter, the man who was desperately in love with her?! Aaaaah!!

The train ride there was relatively uneventful. Lily, Anna, Sierra, and Bailey had a compartment to themselves. That is, until the four Marauders decided to come bursting in, pretending not to notice the four girls already there. They acted like the chairs containing Lily, Anna, Sierra and Bailey were empty and decided to have a seat.  
  
"James Potter, you get off me this instant!" Lily cried, trying to push him off her lap, but with little success.  
  
"I will if you go out with me," he replied, grinning.  
  
"Oh, come on, Lily, it's not every day that you have a guy sitting on your lap," said Bailey, who did not look the least bit objectionable to Sirius's decision to sit down right on top of her. "Lighten up."  
  
Remus and Peter stood up. James and Sirius, however, remained seated. Finally, they too got into standing positions.  
  
"Want a game of Exploding Snap?" James asked eagerly, looking around the room.  
  
Soon the game began, with squeals from the girls every time the cards blew up. It was a highly competitive game; whenever one of the boys lost, particularly James and Sirius, they would yell loudly in anguish. It was extremely amusing to all, even Lily.  
  
At last, the colossal castle was in view, and the group got off the train and managed to squeeze into one carriage. Sirius was still muttering about the unfairness of the last game.  
  
"Apparently, the Head Boy and Girl have to lead the way to the castle," said Sirius, looking at James. "Prongs, old boy, you're gonna have to find the Head Girl, you know."  
  
"He's sitting next to her," said Lily, looking at the ceiling of the carriage. It was dark blue and peeling.  
  
James sat bolt upright and stared at Lily with such a weird expression on his face that the whole carriage burst out laughing, with the exception of Lily.  
  
"_You_?" he asked, shocked.  
  
"Funny, I had the same reaction when I found out it was you," Lily said coldly, still looking at the ceiling.  
  
"You mean you were happy when you found out it was me? Does this mean you like me?" James asked, surprised. Quickly he said, "Will you go out with me?"  
  
Sierra and Bailey both gave Lily identical aww-he's-so-sweet-to-you-why-don't-you-go-out-with-him? looks.   
  
"No, I was not happy when I found out it was you. Quite the opposite. I meant shock, you dimwit."  
  
"You still haven't answered my other question."  
  
"No, I will not go out with you."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Lily stopped looking at the ceiling and turned to face him. "Why? I'll tell you why. I will not go out with you because you are stupid, mean, and completely and totally full of yourself. Grow up."  
  
As Lily said this, a genuine expression of hurt feelings appeared on James's face. For a split second, Lily felt bad and wanted to take back what she said. But only for a split second.  
  
"Did you really mean that?" James whispered to her so that the others wouldn't hear. They didn't. Lily didn't answer. She sincerely hoped James couldn't see her battling feelings on her face. Unfortunately for her, he could.   
  
Realizing that Lily didn't really hate him as much as she had said, James settled back into his seat. He was still irked, though. Why couldn't she just be nice to him, just once? He sighed.  
  
James and Lily didn't talk once as they led the way up the steps. A couple times James looked hopefully at Lily, but she had her eyes set straight ahead. She could be so stubborn. Then he, too, turned his attention to the castle.  
  
Dumbledore met them at the door. He smiled.  
  
"Ah, our Head Boy and Girl," he said, beaming at them. "Welcome back, James, Lily."  
  
The two smiled at him.  
  
"Thank you," they said.  
  
The school filtered into the Great Hall. Lily seated herself at the Gryffindor table. James sat down next to her. Lily scowled at him. He grinned in reply.  
The Sorting was over fairly quickly. Soon, the tables were filled and the students looked instinctively at Dumbledore. He cleared his throat. Silence fell.  
  
"Welcome back, all of you! To our newcomers: the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students. To everyone else: Quidditch trials will be held starting on October 2, depending on your House, check the notice board. And now I have one command for you all: Eat!"  
  
The plates, as usual, filled with food, and the feast began. Lily and her friend were waiting for one of the Marauders' tricks, but it didn't come. _They must be planning something big_, Lily thought. _Ugh._


	2. Matchmakers

The Marauders' big prank became clear when they walked into the Gryffindor common room. First of all, they had set up portraits of the four of them guarding the entrance to the boys' and girls' dormitories. To get past them, you had to say, "Life is no fun without thy Marauders" or "Hail to thy Marauders", depending on the portrait's mood. Second of all, hung up on all the walls of the common room were mirrors. And they weren't normal mirrors. When you looked into it, your reflection spoke back to you, telling you if you had Marauder potential or could only amount to a wanna-be. To cap it all, the Marauders themselves had dropped (or thrown, no one was sure) Dungbombs in all the separate dormitories. Lily was very aggravated.  
  
"James Potter! You're Head Boy! How can you do things like this if you're supposed to be setting a good example?" she cried. James gave her a very cold look. It startled Lily.  
  
_I've never seen him look at me like that_, she thought to herself. _He usually looks lovesick every time I see him_. Lily shook herself. _I don't care, I don't care, I don't care—_"I am sick and tired of you on my back all the time. Lily, shut up."  
  
_I don't care, I don't care, I don't care._ Lily turned to him and said,  
  
"Fine. I hope you get impeached or whatever it is they do to Head Boys who have no maturity and self-control." And with that, she stalked off to the Head Common Room, which was a few yards down from the Gryffindor common room.  
  
"Password?" said not a fat lady in a pink dress, but a portrait of a little fluttering fairy.  
  
"Catkin," Lily replied dully. The portrait swung open. For a moment she stood there, dumbstruck by the luxury of it all. Then the fairy said impatiently,  
  
"Are you going to stand here all night or are you going to go in?"  
  
"I think I'll go in."  
  
There were purple leather couches and beautiful silk-upholstered chairs. The fireplace was nearly twice as large as the one in the Gryffindor common room. She plopped onto a couch. A house-elf came up to her, bearing a tray.  
  
"Tea, miss?"  
  
"No thank you."  
  
For a moment Lily forgot her argument with James. Then it washed over her again like a wave as she remembered exactly who she'd be sharing this posh place with. A second later, the subject of her thoughts walked in.  
  
"Oh, _you're_ here. I'll just go then."  
  
"Hey! I never said you had to leave." Lily was annoyed. Now he was treating her like some royal brat. She sighed.

"I'll stay, then." James sat down next to her on the couch. Lily almost smiled. She folded her arms.  
  
"I said you could stay, not sit next to me," she said, trying to sound cross. Unfortunately for her, James saw through it. He grinned at her.  
  
"You're glad I'm sitting next to you, I know it. You like having an admirer. You were a little afraid that I stopped liking you when I gave you that look." Lily tried not to look astonished. He had just read her thoughts exactly. She tried to put on a bored expression.

"Think what you want," she said.

James saw through that one, too.  
  
"I think I will," he replied. "Right now you're marveling to yourself about how I read your thoughts exactly. You try to appear not interested. I can read you like a book, Lily."  
  
"Stop it!" she said shrilly. James grinned.  
  
"So I'm right," he said triumphantly. Then he frowned and looked sad. "How come you're so mean to me? I know you don't completely hate me. I have an inkling why, but I'm not so sure."  
  
"Well, what's your inkling?" Lily snapped. She was getting tired of him reading her so easily.  
  
"That since you have hated me since you met me, if you did start to like me, you would've been wrong about me. My inkling is that it's a pride issue." Lily stood up.  
  
"Goodnight, James. Have fun making more off-the-wall predictions about what goes on in my head." She left to go to the Gryffindor common room, which had mercifully had returned to normal. She got ready for bed and finally went to sleep.  
  
The next few weeks went by quickly. The Marauders pulled more pranks and got more detentions. James was noticeably subdued. Lily didn't care. Maybe it was because he had finally realized that she would never, never like him.  
  
One day when Lily was in the Head Common Room and James had gone to bed early, the remaining group of friends were talking.  
  
"You know, James is really upset about this," Sirius was saying. "He seems depressed. He has barely said anything the past couple of weeks."  
  
"We really need to do something about it," said Anna, looking really sad for their poor friend. "Could we talk to Lily or something?"  
  
"No, she's in denial," said Bailey. "That wouldn't do any good."  
  
"I have an idea," said Sierra. "We could make a love potion, or something."  
  
"I don't want to get expelled," said Anna, looking nervous. "No."  
  
"I'm going to bed," said Peter, oblivious to the conference going on around him.  
  
"Maybe it's not a love potion we need," said Remus. "Just something to make Lily realize her feelings for James. Let's go to the library."  
  
The group walked silently to the library, all of them deep in thought. They arrived. The group looked and looked and looked. Then Bailey pulled out a thin pinkish volume from the shelf labeled "Matchmaker" in peeling silver letters. She leafed through it and gasped.  
  
"Guys, this is just what we need! '_A guide to getting together that perfect couple.'_" The table of contents looked like this:

Your Basic Love Potion..............................................................................2  
Love Mist..............................................................................................5  
Shadow Charm........................................................................................9  
Love Bouquet........................................................................................10  
Serendipity Charm..................................................................................13   
Pulling It Off Unnoticed...........................................................................15

"Look at 'Shadow Charm,'" whispered Sierra.  
  
"'_A shadow charm makes one of its two victims follow the other around like a shadow._'"  
  
"Nah, they'd go insane," said Sirius.   
  
"Look at Serendipity Charm," Remus said.  
  
"'_The Serendipity Charm makes its two victims frequently end up in the same place at the same time, alone._' Perfect!" Bailey squealed. She read on. "'_To begin the charm, the performer needs a hair from each of the victim's heads._' That shouldn't be too hard. '_Before the charm is performed, the opposite hair must be placed on the victims' shoulders._' Hmm. That's going to be a little more difficult. Sirius and I will distract them with a prank, and you guys can go do that. '_Lastly, the performer will tap the shoulder of each of the victims in turn, then say "Serendipitious!"_' Anna, you better do that. You've always been the best at charms, aside from Lily. '_The charm ends at the victim's first kiss_.' Aaah! This is perfect!" Bailey began dancing around until she tripped over her own feet and toppled to the ground. The group laughed and Sirius helped her to her feet.   
  
"I don't think that we should—you know—legally check this out of the library, wouldn't Madam Pince think we were going to make a Love Potion?" said Anna.  
  
"You're right," said Remus. "Sirius, hide this in your bag."  
  
The group walked out of the library, very proud of themselves.

Thank you, Raisse, for reviewing!! Sorry about the table of contents- I know it looks weird... oh well ;-)


	3. Serendipity Strikes and aQuidditch Match

"So, how exactly are we going to pull this off?" Sierra asked, looking around the group.  
  
"Well," said Remus slowly, "maybe we should have a practice pair. You know, so if—"  
  
"So if Anna accidentally kills the practice pair, well, at least it wasn't Lily and James?"  
  
"No," said Remus, glowering at her. "So if it makes a big bang or something then we'll have some warning. Also we can see exactly how well it works."  
  
"I like that," said Anna. "So.......how about Bailey and ...Sirius?"  
  
"Great," said Sierra. "I like it."  
  
"Don't ask our permission first or anything..." said Bailey, annoyed. Everyone laughed. If James were there he would have told Bailey that she really didn't care that she was to be part of the practice pair. But he wasn't there, so he didn't.  
  
"Ok, Bailey, Sirius, do you consent to being the guinea pigs?"  
  
"Well," said Sirius, looking at Bailey, "I guess."  
  
"Alright," said Bailey.  
  
Anna was studying a complicated diagram depicting the correct wand movement for the spell. After about fifteen minutes she looked up.  
  
"I've got it," she said.  
  
So she took a strand of Bailey's red-brown hair and Sirius's dark hair. After switching them she tapped them on the shoulder and did an intricate wand movement, muttering,  
  
"_Serendipitious_!"  
  
A thin, light mist hovered over the pair's heads. It was pink and silver and if the group weren't looking for some sign that the spell had been completed, they wouldn't have noticed it. The mist formed a heart, then vanished.  
  
Anna slumped onto a couch.  
  
"That spell was difficult," she said. "It required a lot of concentration."  
  
"Well, my fellow guinea pig," said Sirius, looking at Bailey, "I guess we'll be seeing more of each other."  
  
I've decided that I'm going to put a space between each paragraph. It's easier to read and it also makes posts look longer.  
  
Bailey rose much earlier than she normally did on the following Saturday. The first Quidditch match of the season, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, was today. She figured, being on the team as a Chaser, that she'd get in some extra practice time. Bailey was also the most athletic of the four girls and was the only one on the team.  
  
She dressed quickly and headed down to the pitch, broomstick in hand. When she got to the locker room, however, she wasn't alone.  
  
"Hello, fellow guinea pig," said a voice from the corner of the locker room. Bailey turned to see Sirius sitting on a bench, clipping stray twigs out of his broom.  
  
"What are _you_ doing here?" Bailey asked, taken aback.  
  
"I might ask the same thing of you, but unlike you, I am not stupid. Serendipity, remember?"  
  
"Oh. Yeah."  
  
"You seem happy about it," Sirius said sarcastically.  
  
"I—I just remembered how—how the charm is ended."  
  
"Well, my fellow guinea pig, we'll just either have to fall in love (I mean, that is the charm's point, isn't it) or keep meeting up for the rest of our sad, measly lives. Sound like a plan?"  
  
Bailey laughed. "Sure," she said. "Want to practice?"  
  
The two headed out into the early morning sunshine. The leaves of the trees had recently begun to turn all sorts of gorgeous reds, oranges, and yellows. Bailey kicked off and flew in and out of the goalposts, her hair sparkling in the autumn light. Sirius caught up with her and they began to throw the Quaffle back and forth. Finally, they decided to go to breakfast.  
  
When they arrived in the Great Hall, James met up with him. He seemed to have momentarily forgotten Lily in the thrill of the upcoming match.  
  
"Were you guys just practicing? Great. Get a good breakfast, alright?"  
  
The two nodded and headed to the Gryffindor table. A moment later the rest of their friends stumbled in, each of them looking extremely sleepy.   
  
"Goodness, Lily, its not that early," said Bailey, pushing her friend's sleeping head off her shoulder. She was about to prod Lily in the back when a sudden thought came to her. She gently pulled out one of Lily's dark red hairs and ran over to James, who was staring transfixed at his plate as though it was tap dancing. She roughly ripped out one of his hairs, but he didn't even notice. After quickly switching the hairs, she ran over to Anna. A couple of minutes later, the pink and silver mist was hanging over their heads, and no one saw it. Bailey was very pleased with herself.   
  
"We're lucky we have such an infinitely creative mind such as mine to help us in these matters," she said jokingly to the part of the group that wasn't sleeping. They rolled their eyes.   
  
"Don't get cocky," Remus said, chuckling.  
  
About a quarter hour later, the school was piling into the stands overlooking the Quidditch field. The commentator, a Hufflepuff sixth year named Austin Van, was holding a giant megaphone to his lips.  
  
"And today's match—Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw! Should be a good game, folks, Ravenclaw's recently made a few changes in the lineup... and here they are, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw!"  
  
The crowd burst into applause and cheers.  
  
"For Ravenclaw: Sidney, Aston, Burton, Sinclair, Furndon, Shabb, and Wheats! For Gryffindor: Mitchell, Black, Picone, Westfield, Wakely, Thrifter, and Potter! And the game begins!"  
  
Madam Brinkley threw the Quaffle up into the air. Bailey caught it and passed it to David Westfield, who threw it back. She streaked towards the goal, took a shot, and—  
  
"Picone scores! Ten to nil to Gryffindor!"  
  
The game continued in the same manner, with the Gryffindor Chasers dominating the whole time until finally James snatched the Snitch right under Ravenclaw Seeker Wheats's nose. The Gryffindors trudged up to castle, celebrating.  
  
In his good mood, James decided to go to the Owlery to say hello to his owl, Mercury. When he got there, James found Lily, staring out of the glassless windows. She didn't notice him come in. James snapped and Mercury came down and perched on his outstretched arm. Lily turned around.  
  
"Why are _you_ here? Did someone tell you I was here?" she asked, looking at him suspiciously.  
  
"No!" said James innocently. "I just came to pay my owl, Mercury, a long-overdue visit."  
  
She continued to look at him skeptically. James threw up his hands, sending Mercury flying. The tawny owl squawked and returned to the top of the room. "Really! There's no need to look at me like that. Besides, what are you doing here? You didn't look like you were sending a letter."  
  
"I don't know what I'm doing here," she admitted. "I just wanted to be up high and look at the grounds. They're so pretty! I love autumn."  
  
"I could take you on my broom, if you want," James offered. "We could ride over the forest, and the lake and the Quidditch pitch."  
  
"No thanks," said Lily. "I like heights when they're safe."  
  
"Oh, but it _is_ safe! You know I'm a good flyer, I wouldn't drop you or anything, come on Lily, let's go!"  
  
"I think I'll go to the common room. 'Bye, James."  
  
"Wait!" James called, but Lily had already left.

Thanks for the reviews! They are very heartening.


	4. A New Student and an Upcoming Ball

The next day at breakfast, the whole school was buzzing. Rumor had it that there was a new student coming! When most of the students were sitting at their respective tables, Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat. Silence fell immediately.  
  
"There is a new student arriving at Hogwarts today. He will be joining our seventh years. I expect you all to be especially nice to him. Students, this is Ubel Mesopo."  
  
Professor McGonagall walked in, leading Ubel by the arm in one hand, and holding the Sorting Hat and stool in the other. A moment later, the hat screamed—  
  
"SLYTHERIN!"  
  
Ubel stumbled off in the screaming table's direction. He was of medium height and somewhat gangly, with pale skin and short dark hair.  
  
"Uh oh," Sierra muttered to Lily. "Just what we need. Another polite, kind Slytherin."  
  
"You don't know that he's mean," said Lily, looking reprovingly at Sierra. "He just got sorted into Slytherin. Maybe he didn't know it was the bad House."  
  
Sierra muttered something indistinguishable and turned back to her food.   
  
At every House table except Slytherin, similar conversations were going on. Everyone was looking suspiciously at Ubel.  
  
Soon breakfast ended and the school branched off to their different classes. Charms was first for Gryffindor seventh years. The Marauders were deep in thought, and the girls frowning.  
  
No one paid attention in Charms that day; even Lily wasn't listening. Suddenly Anna gasped.  
  
"Ubel means evil," she whispered. She read aloud from the book she was poring over. "'_'Ubel' is a name of German origin meaning, 'evil one.'"_  
  
"Hang on," said Lily, her brow furrowed, "wasn't that evil wizard dictator of the magical community of Ghana named Ubel?"  
  
Anna nodded, her turquoise eyes wide.  
  
Then the bell rang, but the usual noise that filled the air at break was noticeably quieter.  
  
Lunch went the same way as breakfast. Everyone was looking at Ubel. If Lily wasn't scared that he might be evil, she would've felt sorry for him. The boy was staring at his food, trying to ignore the hushed whispers and furtive glances at him.  
  
Suddenly Bailey clapped a hand to her forehead. "Oh my gosh! I forgot! I haven't finished that Potions essay! Lily, can I borrow yours, please?" She gave Lily a puppy face with her big brown eyes.  
  
"You know very well that I am not going to lend you my essay, Bailey."  
  
Bailey moaned and left the table. She ran upstairs to get her half-finished, due-in-twenty-minutes essay. Grabbing it, she hurried to the library.  
  
She plopped next to one of the tables and began writing furiously, occasionally checking the book next to her for some fact. A couple minutes later, Sirius stumbled in, looking in the same condition as her.  
  
"You know, Sirius, I'd love to talk, but I've got that Potions essay due in ten minutes and I'm not finished."  
  
"Well, guinea pig, it seems serendipity has struck again. I haven't finished mine either."  
  
The two worked steadily side-by-side up until the bell rang, when Bailey stood up and looked at her work.  
  
"Well, I hope he doesn't mind my absolutely horrendous handwriting, but I think I got all the information in."  
  
Sirius stood up too.  
  
"That's as much as I have time for. I think I'll get an Acceptable, anyway."  
  
The two tried to go to the door at the same time and bumped into each other. Bailey laughed and tried to hide her blush. Sirius grinned, and they walked to the dungeons together.

The next couple of weeks were uneventful. Halloween was fast approaching, and soon there were colossal pumpkins growing outside of the gamekeeper hut. Bardo, the gamekeeper, was a squat little Scandinavian man who spoke little to anyone and mostly kept to himself and his pet tiger, Koshisigre. They were an odd pair and most people avoided them.  
  
A fortnight before the greatly anticipated feast, Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen," he called, "I have the great pleasure to inform you that this October 31st, a ball will take place."  
  
Girls squealed, and boys looked bored.  
  
"It will be for fourth years and above," he continued, "but younger students may attend if they are invited by an older student.  
  
"I'm sure that all of you will do your best to prepare and that no one—" he looked meaningfully at the Marauders, "—will ruin it for anyone with a prank."  
  
The next few days were all the same. The girls all were in groups together, either complaining about how Dumbledore had given them no preparation time or discussing what they were going to wear. The boys were either looking around for a possible date or else trying to get the courage to ask someone out.  
  
None of the Marauders had dates yet. This was surprising as girls were constantly asking out the Marauders. Apparently, they all had people already picked out in their mind. They just hadn't asked them yet.  
  
Lily was hurrying towards the Gryffindor common room when she bumped heads with James.  
  
"Ouch! Sorry, James," she said apologetically. She tried to run off again, but James caught her arm.  
  
"Lily," he said seriously, "I need to ask you something."  
  
_Here we go_, she thought. _He's going to ask me out._ She looked up expectantly. She wasn't sure what she was going to say yet.  
  
"Lily," he said again. "I'm not going to ask you out. I just want to ask you—since we obviously can't be boyfriend and girlfriend since you think I'm arrogant and mean—could we be friends? Can we go to the ball together—as friends?"  
  
Lily looked at him, a small smile playing on her face. Maybe James _had_ grown up. In any case, she was not going to go with him as his girlfriend. But going as friends was different.  
  
"Yes, I'll go with you," she said. Seeing James's triumphant expression, she added quickly, "As _friends_."  
  
The next weekend, there was a Hogsmeade trip planned. The girls were happy because they could shop for dress robes and such, and the boys were happy because, well, it was Hogsmeade and Hogsmeade meant Zonkos. The Marauders and the girls trudged down the stairs and left the castle.   
  
The girls headed to Madam Musselman's Robe Shop (an outlet of Madam Malkin's) and quickly found the section labeled "Dress Robes for Women."  
  
The girls were quick to find a set. Lily chose an emerald-green one; Anna picked a light, pastel teal one; Bailey selected a dark red one, and Sierra, much to the others' dismay, chose a black one.  
  
"What are you, a Goth?" Bailey asked incredulously. "That set looks just like your school robes. Why even waste the money on this set when you could just wear your other robes?"  
  
"Fine, fine," Sierra said. She flicked her wand over the robes and it turned dark midnight blue with glittering stars dancing across it.  
  
The group bought the robes and walked out of the store. They saw the Marauders in the distance, looking like they were talking in low, secretive voices.  
  
"Alright, we promised, remember, that we all have to ask out our girl," Remus said. "We promised."  
  
"I've already got a date," James said proudly. "Lily."  
  
The others gaped at him. "What?!" they said in unison.  
  
"I promised her we'd go as friends," James said.  
  
"You've got her, mate," Sirius said, clapping James on the shoulder. "A couple months ago she wouldn't have let you finish your sentence."  
  
"Let's hope so," said James.

Thanks to all of you who feedbacked! It really does mean a lot to me.


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